1. Media Center Facilities Plan
Presented by:
Lakita Reese
FRIT 7132
Administration of the Instructional Media Program
Georgia Southern University
Spring 2013
3. School Profile
The School of Liberal Studies at Savannah High School is located in Savannah, GA.
It is one of 10 high schools in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System
and serves approximately 715 students (9th-12th grade).
Student-Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Students eligible for free lunch: 83%
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Image courtesy of: School Designs
4. School Motto, Mission and Vision
Motto:
"We Believe"
Mission
To ignite a passion for learning and teaching at high levels.
Vision
From school to the world: All students prepared for
productive futures.
5. SHS Media Center
The media center is
located on the 2nd floor of
the school building.
6. SHS Media Center
Staffing
One full-time media specialist
One full-time media clerk
Population Served
Approximately 715 students (9th-12th grade)
Approximately 58 teachers
Scheduling
Fixed-Schedule
7. SHS Media Center Mission
The mission of our media center is to enhance
learning, as well as broaden the spectrum of what
students can accomplish in their lives outside of school.
We hope to encourage the growth of
responsible, information literate, well educated young
adults who will have a lifelong commitment to learning
and literacy, and who will share these characteristics
with their communities.
8. SHS Media Center Vision
The media center will be a welcoming environment for
students and teachers. All students will have equal
access to materials and technology. The media center
staff will support students and teachers by providing
resources and help to those who use the media center
or media center materials. The media center will
provide materials that correspond to the standards and
the curriculum.
9. SHS Media Center Philosophy
Statement
Reading is the basis of all learning, and a strong
foundation in language arts equips students to excel in
all areas of education. Also, It is important that the
cultural trend toward learning and interacting through
technology is reflected in our learning environments to
meet the needs of students today. The Savannah High
School Media Center will promote language arts and
information literacy, while also encouraging and
supporting the use of technology for educational
purposes in the media center and in the classrooms.
24. Faculty and Student Survey
Results
7 out of 12 teachers and 16 students completed the
Media Center Surveys. These surveys were
administered on SurveyMonkey.
Teacher participants were selected from every subject
level.
Student participants' grade levels ranged from 10th-12th
grades. Survey questions were derived from the
following source:
Everhart, Ph D. , Nancy. Evaluating the School Library
Media Center: Analysis Techniques and Research
Practices. Jamaica, NY: Libraries Unlimited, 1998. Print.
47. Facility Analysis
There are many factors that contribute to the overall effectiveness of a school's
media center. Some of these factors include good lighting, security
systems, sufficient technology, print, and electronic resources; comfortable seating
and leisure areas, welcoming signs, posters, and display boards; accessibility for
individuals with disabilities or special needs, areas for individual and group
studies, and areas for meetings and instruction.
Savannah High School’s media center is a beautiful area that incorporates many of
the above mentioned areas. It has large windows to allow plenty of bright light into
room. A security system is put in place to prevent patrons from removing library
materials before checking them out. The media center has a teacher workroom for
teachers to laminate materials and create different crafts. The media center also has
a multimedia room that houses many instructional video resources for teachers and
students. In addition, the media center has a variety of instructional print and
electronic available resources.
48. Facility Analysis (cont)
Although our media center has many great features, there is still room for
improvement and changes. Some of these improvements and changes are indicated
by the results of the teacher and student surveys. For example, many students and
teachers commented on their surveys the need for more computers. Although our
media center has 16 computer workstations available for patrons to use, there is not
an available computer lab for instructional use. A computer lab would be beneficial to
allow teachers to instruct a class without disturbing other patrons in the media center.
In addition to adding a computer lab, the media center needs a few computer
workstations that will allow better wheelchair access. Computer workstations that are
wide and raised are ideal for wheelchair access.
Secondly, our media center does not have an area for leisure reading. An area for
leisure reading is important for media centers to have because it promotes
independent reading and an enjoyment of reading. A leisure area would be best
situated near the magazine and newspaper rack and includes soft chairs for comfort
and relaxation.
49. Facility Analysis (cont)
In addition to a leisure area, there are not many areas in our library where students
can study independently . All of the chairs and tables are open to a wide area with
little room for privacy. Therefore, an area for independent study is needed.
Furthermore, although we have a conference room designed for meetings, it does
not have a large enough table, and the chairs in this room are not soft
and comfortable for meetings. The room is also rather small and should be a little
larger to accommodate larger meetings. In addition, although this room has a
whiteboard, it needs an overhead projector and projector screen for presentations.
In addition to the aforementioned needed changes pertaining to the arrangement
of the media center, student and teacher surveys also revealed a need for more
student printers, better signs, and more books, magazines, and newspapers.
51. Revised Floor Plan Explanation
The revised floor plan includes the following changes:
Computer Lab with 28 computers and a mounted projector and
projector screen
Larger table and comfortable chairs in conference room and
mounted projector and screen.
Wide-Raised desktop computer workstations to provide
accessibility for students with disabilities.
Leisure area with comfortable chairs and arranged around
magazine and newspaper stand.
Study carrel area for independent study
53. SHS Media Center Policies
In my school district, we do not have a separate facilities use policy; however, several
components of a facilities use policy are included in our school’s Media Center
Handbook. Our handbook addresses facility use policies such as hours of
operation, scheduling visits to the media center, student guidelines regarding
visitations to the library, and accessing equipment. Some essential components that
our school’s media center handbook does not include are policies regarding
appropriate behavior and a food and drink policy. I think that these policies should be
integrated into the handbook because they are all essential in maintaining a library
conducive to learning and respecting the rights and properties of others when using
the library.
Another issue that our school's media center handbook does not address is the
handling outside groups requesting to use the facility. This is a section that should be
included in the school's facility policy so that the media specialist will know the proper
procedures and protocol if a community group requests to use the facilities.
